Pathos
by Mornings Light
Summary: That moment when you accidentally enter the wrong tent and then have to stay and help a vulnerable, gorgeous man in it because he's sick. Just a regular week for Yamanaka Ino.


The rain fell in dismal sheets and did not appear to let up any time soon. That was why the fair-haired girl had given up on scouting for the current period of time and headed to the outskirts of town. Her fringe was plastered over her face and she had to keep pushing it out of the way to see what was ahead of her. Ino groped across slippery tree limbs and splashed over puddles as she made her way back to the ground she had set up camp on. The tent was still there- a wonder considering how stormy it was- along with the tarpaulin. Ino almost collapsed with relief when she got inside.

She couldn't remember leaving her towel over the rucksack in the opening of the tent, but the kunoichi was all too happy to grab the fluffy item and start drying her hair after she had peeled away her wet cloak and top. Within moments, she had settled into the covers of her sleeping bag and was soon fast asleep.

Unfortunately for the girl that had been caught out in the heavy rain, she had failed to check if this really was her tent or not.

Because it wasn't.

So, one could understand the confusion of the real owner of this tent, Uchiha Itachi, who awoke to find slender arms and legs wound tightly around his body.

His mind was half addled by fever, but the dark-haired man was quite certain he had fallen asleep alone and without any companion. Kisame had offered to complete the rest of the mission without him, simply because Itachi had overused the sharingan against a client.

Deidara…?

For the thick hair that draped over his neck and around his pillow was a very light colour. But no… Deidara's hands weren't that soft. Moreover the terrorist bomber wouldn't be sleeping with his arms around him like that. The Uchiha rubbed more sleep from his eyes and tried to stem the flutter of nervousness that had crept up. Just… just what had happened?

It's certainly my tent… but this person… it's a girl. And judging by her chakra signature: A kunoichi… from where?

His dark eyes narrowed, tracing the lack of scars on her form and saw a small bundle of purple clothes. Those sandals… they were made in Konoha. His gaze settled back to her face. It was dark and hard to make out her features, but they were that of a youthful female.

A konoha kunoichi was lying next to him, arms draped around him like a lover- but when she would wake from her slumber, he knew that she would be ready to murder him. He did not want to fight… certainly not in his condition right now. And his head was throbbing. He needed her to go away and hopefully not-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!" was the high pitched shriek that followed as soon as she woke up to find herself half sprawled all over a man.

-Scream.

Itachi placed a single finger over her lips, far too tired to ask her to calm down- but he was grateful when the scream died.

Instead, it was replaced with her, staring at him with a small 'o' expression. She was a strange kunoichi, he thought. Itachi hoped she did not recognise him. Her eyes, now opened, looked like malachite. She stared at him with such a soft expression- should kunoichi look at their enemies like that?

"I'm sorry, this is your tent, isn't it?" For Ino had realised her mistake, now that she had become marginally dry and less tired.

Was she apologising? A flicker of relief was seen on his face before it died away, replaced with an inscrutable expression. He lowered his gaze, accepting her apology with a wordless nod. But even that movement was painful. She had moved one of her hands away from his body and rested it over his cheek and then his forehead.

What…? Now he was confused.

"You have a really high temperature!" There was more of that soft expression on her face and he would have smiled, but the tension of finding the stranger, as well as the recent bout of sickness, had left him weak to explain anything. He was supposed to take tablets to manage the headache, but he would need them with food. And the thought of eating anything had him vomiting. His illness was getting worse and so were his fevers… but he had to continue.

His mission wasn't over yet.

"I'll be okay, I have some medicine," he finally said, hoping she would not drag him to a doctor. Instead, she was curiously checking his vital signs on her own. Ah… so she is trained in medical jutsu. But as far as she knows, I am not a ninja from her village…?

He had a lot of questions to ask, but not enough strength to muster up the words. Thankfully, he needn't say anything as cool, green fingers rested over his forehead. He drifted back into sleep, only able to make out the shafts of moon light that had filtered through the small opening of the flap she had made. It made her her hair appear silvery.

When she saw him awake, she managed a smile. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. Sorry for using your tent! Ahahaha, guess I couldn't tell the difference in the rain!"

And she laughed. The kind of earthy, girlish laugh that would add a little warmth to any day. Certainly not heard by his ears in a long time.

"Its fine," he replied, his lips lifting up ever so slightly. He missed Konoha.

"My name is… Itachi."

Over the next few hours, or days… he wasn't entirely sure of the passage of time, he saw a lot of that fair hair. During the day, gold and straight, spilling all around her as she pumped healing chakra into him, stitching his inflamed tissue bit by bit, and then at night, it would transform. Gleaming like a silver mirror behind her.

"There! All done, Itachi-San," she would smile at him and smooth the fringe out of his eyes. He didn't have the energy to tell her that her healing was all in vain. There was no cure to the disease he had.

This transition from gold to silver, from hot to cold… he couldn't put it into words, but he did not mind the presence. After she had felt his temperature and known that he was sick, she had refused to leave his side. She urged him to eat little spoonfuls, aided him with medicine and even though she slept on the far side of the tent (her own had mysteriously blown away), she'd end up with her arms around him by the morning.

Warmth spread to his cheeks when her arm draped over him again that night. He had never had a female companion sharing his camp grounds, and judging by first night's scream, he decided it best to shift his bedroll away from the Yamanaka female.

Unfortunately, Ino was like a moth to a flame and simply reeled herself closer towards him not a moment later.

"Nn…" she sighed dreamily, unaware to her companion's growing mortification.

There's no more room! He was actually pinned right to the edge of the tent and her arms still found him. He dare not move her either, because she would wake up. She had spent the better portion of the day healing him and so he eventually gave up trying to get away from her at night.

Ino was scooping out breakfast for him again, rice, berries and a hot, cup of tea.

"You need to eat!" she scolded him, staring at the pieces of meat she had so kindly left for him, only to find them mostly untouched on his plate.

Itachi almost pouted, or as much as he could form one in his condition. Miserable, he picked up the chopsticks and forced himself to swallow the lumps of flesh because she was waiting for him to finish his meal up like a hawk. This nosy girl…

He just looked so gaunt. Hair limp and skin dull… He could also do with a good wash, now that he was recovering a little better. The fair-haired girl would wait for him to finish before suggesting that. When he ate his fill and drained his cup, the florist decisively pushed a basin of warm water at him.

"You need to bathe. It will help remove your lethargy and freshen you up. Let's head down to the stream and quickly clean you up," her voice had taken on a clinical tone, but he could tell that this embarrassed her from the way her ears were stained red.

"I would prefer to do that on my own," he added. He wasn't embarrassed, but he wasn't going to agree to her suggestions either.

He was ill, not incapable.

Even so, she had set up a little box with all the essentials to help him get clean and she was surprised to see him finish so quickly. Or was it… disappointment?

"Waah, you look amazing!" She blurted out before she could stop herself. Little patches of pink splashed her cheeks.

The dregs of his illness had been scoured away, leaving a man with high cheekbones and large, serious black eyes and inky hair. He was incredibly handsome, but she tried to keep her staring to a minimum. And tragically failed. He was her type.

"Why, thank you," he smiled, feeling a lot better than he had been.

Itachi reached for another towel to dry his hair, the same time Ino reached to hand it to him and her blush only darkened when their fingers brushed past each other.

"Gah!" Ino jumped back, yelping as if she had been struck. "I-I NEED TO GATHER SUPPLIES!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow and watched her almost bolt out of the tent. Weird.

Meanwhile, Ino was on the other side of the grounds, out of sight, and trying not to bash her head against a tree because she could not stop imagining her 'patient' shirtless. Wrong, wrong, wrooong! I'm not supposed to find this needy, helpless ninja a hottie!

And yet… he found himself welcoming her weirdness. He was grateful for her gentle care, even if the way her attentive eyes made him a little self-conscious at times. She really needn't worry about every struggling intake of breath or count every morsel of food.

"Ino-San, I'm fine," he found himself repeating that a lot.

"I know you're fine but you still haven't got your appetite back!" she insisted stubbornly, forgetting that she was used to the appetite of an Akimichi, and Naruto back in the village. Most boys she knew ate five times more than Itachi did.

"And don't you dare say it's my cooking. This is premium stuff, this!"

Her eyes were narrowed and he coaxed a few more bites into his mouth, if only to flatten some of the lines over her forehead. When he cleared his plate, she was all smiles and happily chattered with him about her friends and the places she liked around her village.

"Where are you from? Fire Country, ne?" She was still offering him a gentle smile, which widened when he nodded. "I knew it! You have the chakra of someone from Fire Country… but I've never seen you in Konoha. Ahh… you should come visit it some time, Itachi-San. I'll show you my favourite place there!"

His heart twisted painfully in his ribs. For a long time, he had only wanted one thing, to die by Sasuke's hand. She did not have a clue about who he was, how far he had sank into a life of crime and disrepute, the dark shinobi he surrounded himself with… he was supposed to be her enemy for all appearance's sake. But a part of himself would have liked to be able to see those places in his beloved village. To see them with Sasuke and Ino. To reveal that he was also a shinobi from Konoha…

But those things were simply wistful little dreams, like the dying embers of the campfire they shared.

Ino watched the fire reflected in his eyes, wondering why he had gone quiet again. Itachi was an enigma- polite and nice one moment, but then he would withdraw into himself. There was something about him that drew her to him, a certain sadness that she still hadn't managed to remove with her jutsu. Perhaps that was why she could not leave him, even when he had stopped coughing up blood.

He was well on his way to a recovery, and there was going to be a time when they would have to continue on their separate ways… but she didn't want her time to end. His calm answers, his rare, mysterious smiles… she was already attached. Ino would make excuses to stay for as long as she could.

"Itachi," she began, eyes turning away from the fire and then towards him. She took in the entire sight of him; his long dark hair, his serious eyes and that melancholy smile.

"I really… admire you."

He turned to her, quizzical at first, and then his smile widened just a touch. "Ah… I do as well. Thank you for all the care you have provided for me."

Ino swallowed hard, brows furrowing at his dismissive response. Was this… a rejection? No, it couldn't be one. Certainly not with the sincerity reflected in his eyes.

He just… didn't understand her first confession.


End file.
